Thailand’s 96 for 9 (Boochatham 40, Rabeya 4-14, Moni 2-10, Jesmin 2-28) was defeated by Bangladesh 100 for 3 (Murshida 50, Maya 1-8) by seven wickets.
Bangladesh secured its first points in the Women’s Asia Cup 2024 and snapped a ten-match losing streak in T20Is. They defeated Thailand seven wickets to the bank in Dambulla, keeping their hopes of making it to the semi-finals alive after losing the first game to Sri Lanka.
On a spin-friendly surface, Bangladesh restricted Thailand to a below-par 96 for 9, thanks to the four wicket haul of legspinner Rabeya Khan and the two scalps of seam-bowling all-rounder Ritu Moni. With a 41-ball 40, Nattaya Boochatham was Thailand’s highest scorer. After being absent from the previous match, Murshida Khatun hit 50 off 55 balls in response, leading Bangladesh to victory in 17.3 overs.
Suwanchonrathi, from No. 11 to opener
After batting at No. 11 in her previous two innings, Aphisara Suwanchonrathi was elevated to open with Boochatham. However, Suwanchonrathi’s attempt to get underway backfired. It took her twelve deliveries to reach the boundary before she was bowled out for a 20-ball six in the seventh over. In the powerplay, Thailand could only muster 25 for 0.
Rabeya, Moni strangle Thailand
In her opening over, the seventh of the innings, Rabeya struck twice, outcasting Nannapat Koncharoenkai and Suwanchonrathi. This time, Koncharoenkai, who had top-scored with 40 in the previous game, was duped. Early in the match, Bangladesh understood that Thailand had trouble scoring when faced with full balls. Their spinners used bounce, turn, and drift to fool the Malaysian hitters.
Nigar Sultana gave the ball to Moni at the midway point, and she scored right away. Phannita Maya was removed from Thailand 38 for 3 when she hit the hard length and caused the ball to swing in. With a slower ball in her subsequent over, Moni dismissed Chanida Sutthiruang for a ten-ball eight.
In the fourteenth over, Rabeya made a comeback and used a wrong’un to castle Suwanan Khiaoto. In the 17th over, she cleaned up Boochatham, refusing to let her get away either.
After giving up 23 runs in her first three overs, rookie left-arm spinner Sabikun Nahar Jesmin took two off of two deliveries in her final over to further humiliate Thailand.
Murshida among the runs
Prior to Monday, Bangladesh had only won one Twenty20 international match, against South Africa in December 2023, when Murshida top-scored with an undefeated 62. However, throughout the following seven months, the team had trouble at the bat and frequently collapsed around Sultana. They utilised seven players in the top three in the last three series prior to this tournament in an attempt to discover the winning combination.
Bangladesh even made three changes to their starting eleven on Monday. Murshida was one of them, and she made an impression. It required her ten deliveries to get off to a good start, but she thereafter kept the scoreboard moving. In the fifth over, she and Dilara Akter made a mix-up that led to the latter being run out. However, Murshida made sure Bangladesh stayed on course. In her innings, she struck eight fours and scored her fourth half-century in T20I cricket. She added 60 off 58 balls for the second wicket with Ishma Tanjim.
Late in the game, Bangladesh lost two wickets, but this time, Sultana wasn’t needed to save them.